work in the field and are truly the face of TruGreen. It’s for this reason that we refer to our “corporate” offices (in Nashville and Memphis) as Support Centers. The role of everyone in those locations is to remain very field-oriented and help offer the support they need to win with custom- ers every day. Having this at the center of our culture is incredibly powerful and unifying. Recently, we invited 1,200 leaders
from across the organization to our Lead- ership Summit. The goal was to gather as One Team Together and discuss strategy, initiatives and plans for the year. The excitement, goodwill and engagement this one meeting created has everyone thinking about finding ways for their local teams to do the things that drive customer retention and enhance our sales efforts.
WE’RE A HEAVILY REGULATED INDUS- TRY. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU SEE THE INDUSTRY FACING IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS? We are lucky to have a government affairs team that helps us, along with the NALP, navigate the changing political climate in Washington, D.C. as well as state and local governments, including Canada. Our team ensures we’re aware of what is trending, advances opportunities to shape policy and defends the business interests of our industry from hostile legislation and regulation that impact revenue, earnings, and operations. We always want to ensure our custom- ers – and all lawn care customers – have product choice when it comes to their lawns. No matter the challenge, we want our customers to know we can solve their lawn care needs with products they can feel great about using. Regardless of the industry, there are
always other challenges that will arise. It is about showing customers value and why TruGreen is the right choice.
PEOPLE FORGET TRUGREEN HAS FRANCHISE BUSINESSES AS WELL. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED OR PUT INTO PLAY FROM THEM? Our franchisees are integral to our success, and we learn from each other. Each year, we have an annual franchise meeting, where our executive leadership team meets with our franchisees to discuss our corporate updates, initiatives and receive feedback from the franchisees on what they would like to see in improvements and changes.
What has been your biggest challenge leading TruGreen? The biggest challenges can often lie in the things we cannot control. Economic downturns, weather and pandemics – just to name a few. That said, it is our job to figure out how we can overcome these obstacles and, at the end of the day, give our customers the best lawn care at the best value that we can. Our company is a growth company. In fact, our mission is to be the best, fastest-growing and most valuable lawn care company in the world. We need to grow our customer base while retaining the great customers we already have. That’s what keeps us all up at night. The lawn care industry not only competes against itself in terms of market share, but we also need to think about the Do It Yourself (DIY) options. What sets us apart is that we offer our customers time back in their daily lives. And we offer a range of plans to let us help them while they move on to more important things, like spending time with friends and family.
We also learn from them about what is working in their local markets and what insights they may have on competition, products, and sales. These branches have the ability to focus on a local area and learn what works and what doesn’t for those customers – often heightening the personal connections and customer service. We all share collective goals in hopes of unified success for TruGreen.
AS A WEST POINT GRADUATE AND VET- ERAN YOURSELF, DOES YOUR COMPA- NY SEEK TO ATTRACT MORE VETERANS TO THE INDUSTRY? Yes, definitely. We’re always looking to hire veterans, we currently have around 5% of our current active employees have military backgrounds. Additionally, 17% of our current customer base identifies as veterans. We hope to grow both of those numbers. This past year, we launched our military discount, offering 50% off your first service and 10% off for services to follow for all active, reservist, veteran, and retired U.S. military personnel. Regardless of my background, it’s
important to TruGreen, as an organiza- tion, and honors those who have served our country.
WHERE DO YOU SEE TRUGREEN HEAD- ED IN THE NEXT FIVE YEARS? If we stay true to our growth mission, I think the next five years are going to be
very exciting for TruGreen. Our primary focus is on driving organic customer growth, and that comes from increasing customer retention and enhancing our sales efforts. Focusing on those things has already proven powerful for us as a team, and I think the upside over a five- year period is tremendous.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHERS TRYING TO GROW A SUCCESS- FUL BUSINESS? I don’t know if there is one simple formula for growing a successful business. I wish there was one! In fact, I recently gave a talk about this exact subject at the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce, where I spoke to how everyone would benefit from a “Complete Leadership Instruction Book” focused on driving growth. What I do know is that there are five
key tools that I have relied on to help me grow as a leader while also driving business results: Believe in yourself. Find great people to work for (and with) who challenge and support you.
Recognize that your job is growth and results matter.
Get comfortable being uncomfortable – growth requires change and that is always hard.
Simplify to unify. TE National Association of Landscape Professionals 31
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